Cigarette dispenser



July 31, 1951 J. F. GUsTAFsoN ET Al.

CIGARETTE DISPENSER Filed NOV. 13, 17948 an d' CczrZ Hoger 62522126507?,

July 31, 1951 J. F. GUsTAFsoN ET AL 2,562,666

CIGARETTE DISPENSER Filed NOV. l5, 1948 2 SheetS-Sheei 2 Q7 CarlHoggenusaofz @QW/@MW Patented July 31, 1951 CIGARETTE DISPENSER Y JohanFolke Gustafson and Carl Holger Gustafsom'Chicago, Ill.

Application November 13, 194s, serial No, 59,956 2 claims, (c1. 31e- 76)This invention relates to a cigarette dispenser o f Ywhat might becalled a novelty type.

The device embodies relatively movable, co.- operating parts, themovements of which, must be properly timed relative to each other forproper operation. The main object of the present invention is to providea device of the character indie cated, which, notwithstanding therequirement of timed, movable, cooperating parts, is of relativelysimple and inexpensive construction but which will operate smoothly andeiiciently.

Otherv objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawings (twosheets) in which there is illustrated a cigarette dispenser embodying aselected form of theine vention.

In the drawings,

Fis. l is a top plan;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section on the line 2e-f2 .0f Fig. 1, and

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections on the lines 3 3 and 4 4respectively of Fig. 2.

The cigarette dispenser illustrated in the drawings comprises a holowsheet metal base I, which has a top plate or platform 2 and dependingside walls 3. This base may be in the form o f a one piece stamping withrounded side vcorners vand a more or less ornamentally ,formed topcorner as shown.

A storage chest or cigarette receptacle is mounted on top of the baseand consists of a side wall structure 4 in the form of a rectangulartubelike member, preferably formed o f a strip of sheet metal bent tothe required shape, the strip having its opposite ends brought togetherin abut? ting relation as indicated at 5 in Fig. 1. This side wallstructure is fixedly secured to the platform 2 of the base by means of asuitabe number 'of ears, such as represented at 6, which depend fromOpposite side wall portions and project downwardly through suitablyformed holes in the platform. The ears 6 may be slightly twisted or bentto permanently anchor the side wall structure d to the base.

Within the receptacle 4 there is provided a drawer I and a false bottomstructure 8, the latter embodying a downwardly and forwardly inclinedpanel 9 and a rearwardly extending horizontal panel I which overlies therearward portion of the drawer 7. This false bottom structure may berigidly secured in place by means of an upwardly extending lip part IIspot welded or otherwise secured to the back of the side wall structure4, and by means of another lip I2 which depends -from the rear edge ofthe horie' zontal part I0 and is spot welded or otherwise secured to therear of said wall structure d. A removable cover or cap I3 is tted tothe top of the Storage receptacles The drawer 'I is also preferably ofsheet metal construction and .it is slidable forwardly and rearwardlythrough an opening I4 in the front wall of the cigarette supply f:hambeny Said drawer has a top wall I5 which is provided near itsforward portion with a recessed portion I B of more or less U-shapc andof such size as to be adapted to receive .a single cigarette to bedispensed. The drawer also has a .front Wall Il which, in the Closedposition of the drawer, is

substantially co-planar with the front wall part.

of the cigarette supply chamber, a bottom wall I8 and a rear wall I9formed of overlapping end portions of the metal strip from which thedrawer is formed. Said overlapping end portions may be spot welded orotherwise secured together to prevent the upper and lower wall portionsof the drawer from tending to spread apart.

The vertical dimension of the drawer is preferably ,Somewhat less thanthe vertical dimension between the horizontal part I0 o f the falsebottom structure and the patform 2 of the base so that the drawer isfreely slidable under said false bottom part III. To further insure freesliding movement, the platform 2 may be provided with a pair of upwardlypressed narrow ridges or ribs 20 (Fig. 4) on which the bottom I8 of thedrawer slides with a relatively small amount of friction. This rib orridge support for the drawer also prevents the drawer from rubbingagainst the main surface of the platform 2 when the drawer is projectedfrom the supply lchamber so that the finish of the platform is therebyprotected againstv in? jury.

When the drawer I is moved forwardly lby means presently to bedescribed, a single cigarette carried in the pocket I6 will, of course,be car-V ried forwardly to an exposed position as repre'.`

proximately centrally of the width of the drawer.'

Said ear 2| extends downwardly through a slot 22 provided in theplatform 2 of the base so that the ear may slide forwardly andrearwardly as required by the indicated movement of the draw- A spring23 stretched between a portion of the ear 2| and an anchorage on therear of the base serves to yieldingly hold the drawer in its retractedposition as shown in full lines in Fig. 2. The rear anchorage for thespring 23 is preferably in the form of a hook member 23A which may bewelded or otherwise secured to the back wall of the base. This form ofanchorage avoids any cutting of the exposed wall portions of the base soas to avoid impairment of the appearance of the device.

Rearward movement of the drawer may be limited by means of endextensions |1A and |1B of the front wall l1 of the drawer (Figs. l and3) which are adapted to engage the front edges of the sides of thesupply chamber 4. This provides a very simple but eifective meansforinsuring accurate alignment of the front wall I1 of the drawer with thefront wall of the supply chamber when the drawer is in retracted orclosed position.

For effecting forward or dispensing movement of the drawer and forpresenting the dispensed cigarette in a readily accessible position,there is provided a movable pick-up device which, in this instance, isrepresented by a more or less fantastic or novelty bird body form 24equipped with a cigarette pick-up bill consisting of a pair of resilientmembers 25. The body 24 is mounted on a pair of strip-like extensions26, 26 of a metal plate 21, which is pivotally mounted in the base. Saidstrip-like extensions 26, 26 constitute a more or less fancifulrepresentation of the legs of the bird body.

The metal plate 21 comprises a main body portion of suiiicient thicknessand width to have sufficient stiffness and strength to support thepickup device and it is pivotally mounted in the baseV by means of apair of small endwise extending ears 28, 28 which extend from theopposite ends of the plate and project through suitable bearing openings29 provided in end portions of a mounting dome 30. The mounting dome 3Dis of elongated approximately semi-cylindrical shape havingapproximately diametrically extended front and rear edge flanges 3| and32 respectively, which underlie the platform 2 of the base and are spotwelded or otherwise secured to said platform. The platform is, ofcourse, provided with a suitable opening to permit the dome portion 3 0to be projected upwardly through the platform to the extent permitted bythe flanges 3| and 32.

The vdome 30 is provided with integrally formed end walls 33 and 34which extend downwardly below the platform 2 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3,to provide portions having said bearing openings 29 to pivotally receivethe pivot ears of the plate 21. The plate 21 is also provided with adepending central ear 35 provided at its lower end with a hook 36whereby a coil spring 31 may have an end loop connected tosaid ear 35.The other end of the spring 31 is suitably connected to the ear 2| ofthe drawer.

The domed member 39 is of approximately semicylindrical conformationabout the axis of the pivot mounting 29 of the plate 21. This detailresults in a good appearance in respect of the visible length of the legelements 26 while permitting the employment of leg lengths which providea path of travel for the pick-up member which path is of such length asto facilitate attainment of desired relationships between the movementsof 4 the drawer 1 and the pick-up device as will presently appear.

The operating plate 21 is also provided with a pair of upwardlyextending operating arms 38 and 39, these arms being preferably disposedat an upwardly upstanding angle somewhat offset from the plane of theleg portions 21 as shown in Fig. 2. The upper ends of the arms 38 and 39are preferably provided with suitable enlargements as illustrated, toprovide adequate areas for engagement with the end of a finger foroperating the device.

The mounting dome 39 is, of course, suitably slotted as indicated, topermit the passage of the legs 26 and the operating arms 38 and 39upwardly through the dome. These slots preferably continue through theforward lip or flange 3| so as to facilitate assembling of the mountingdome 39 with the operating plate 21.

The base has its bottom closed by means of a bottom plate 40 which hasan upwardly extending peripheral flange 4| which fits snugly around thelower marginal portion of the base side walls. For attaching the bottomclosure to the base, the base is provided with a plurality of dependingears such as indicated at 42, which project downwardly from the sidewalls of the base through slots 43 provided in the bottom 40, the saidears or tongues 42 being bent inwardly and seated in suitable recesses44 formed in the bottom plate for the purpose of receiving said ears. Asuitable felt or other non-scratching bottom sheet 45 is adhered tothebottom plate to cover the fastening ears 42 and to provide a desirablepad for protecting theV finish of a table or desk top or the likeagainst injury by the device.

The drawer 1 may be guidedin its movement by the slot 22 and the ear 2I. However, additional guiding means may be provided. Such additionalguiding means may comprise a pair of spaced ears 46 and 41 dependingfrom the bottom I8 of the drawer adjacent one side thereof and extendingthrough an elongated slot 48 in the platform 2, and a similar pair ofears 49 and 59 and a slot 5| adjacent the other side of the drawer. Theslots are of a Width to permit free but controlled or guided movement ofthe ears relative to the base as an incident to the movement of thevdrawer. rlhese guiding ears and slots will serve to prevent cramping ofthe drawer which, in the absence of some such guide means, mightoccasionally occur and interfere with normal operation of the dispenser.

A supply of cigarettes is introduced into the supply chamber 4 which ispreferably of sufficient size to hold the entire content ofconventionalv cigarette packages. The cigarettes being supplied to thesupply chamber are dispensed one by one by pressing either of theoperating arms 38 or 39 toward the supply chamber and downwardly tothereby rock the mounting plate 21 in a counter-clockwise direction asviewed in Fig. 2. Such rocking movement of the plate '21 carries thepick-up device toward the supply chamberv and downwardly and it alsoacts through the spring 21 to effect forward movement of the drawer 1.The spring 31 is selected of greater strength than the spring 23 so thatthe spring 31 will initially act as a link to effect the indicatedforward movement of the drawer 1. Forward movement of the drawer 1 islimited by engagement of the ear 2| with the forward end 22A of the slot22 so that the drawer can only be projected to about the positionillustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. Whenjthe drawer reaches thisprojected position, the pick-up device is in an intermediate positionwhere the ends A of the bill-like members 25 are at an elevation abovethe top wall of the drawer. However, continued counter-clockwise rockingof the pick-up device is permitted notwithstanding the fact that thedrawer has reached its forward limit of movement.

Such additional movement of the pick-up device is permitted because thespring 3l is capable of yielding as required to permit the pick-up billstructure to be moved downwardly to the position approximately asrepresented in dotted lines in Fig. 2 wherein the elements 25 of thebill embrace the cigarette and more or less pinch the cigarette so thatupon reverse movement of the pick-up device the cigarette will becarried upwardly and finally held in the position illustrated at 52 inFig. 2. In this position, the cigarette is readily accessible since onlya narrow central portion of the cigarette is enclosed by the pickup billand the opposite end portions are wholly exposed and readily accessible.

During the retractive or clock-wise movement of the pick-up device, thepick-up structure will move upwardly to withdraw the bill and cigarettefrom the drawer before retraction of the drawer starts. This movementoccurs while the spring 31 is contracting and is under sufficienttension to maintain the drawer in its projected position. After thepick-up device has cleared the drawer 1, the spring 3l reaches itsnormal contracted condition whereupon the spring 23 is permitted to actto effect retraction of the drawer l as permitted by the iinal portionof the reverse movement of the pick-up device.

To enable the pick-up bill elements 25 to embrace the cigarette in themanner set forth, the drawer 1 is provided with a slot 53 whichtraverses the cigarette receiving seat I6. Said slot is of sucientlength and breadth as indicated, to permit the pick-up bill to avoid anycontact with the drawer structure. If desired, additional slots Eli maybe provided to avoid entrapment of particles of tobacco in the seat sothat the said seat is in effect self-cleaning. Such particles will, inthe course of movement of the drawer back and forth, find their waythrough one or other of the slots 53 or 56 and fall into the interior ofthe drawer from which they may be removed when desired.

The described structure embodies relatively simple sheet metal stampingswhich can be made by well known mass production methods so that the costof production can be maintained very low for an item embodying theindicated movements and timing problems. The bird body or other member2li may be made by molding to obtain various novel and attractiveeffects although, if desired, the pick-up bills 25 could be carried by asimple :dat plate extension of the leg elements 26.

Various changes in the described structure may be made Without departingfrom the invention.

We claim:

1. In a dispenser having a hollow base, a receptacle on said base for asupply of cigarettes, a drawer movable over said base into and out ofsaid receptacle and provided with means for receiving a cigarette fromsaid supply and for carrying such cigarette to a position outside ofsaid receptacle, a pick-up member mounted on said base for rockingmovement to and from said drawer when the latter is projected from saidreceptacle, said pick-up member having means for gripping the cigarettein said projected drawer so as to remove the cigarette from the drawerupon movement of the pick-up member from said drawer, and meansinterconnecting said drawer and pick-up member so as to effectsynchronized movement thereof upon actuation of said pickup member, saidinterconnecting means comprising a, pick-up carrying member pivoted onsaid base, an ear depending from said drawer into said base, andresilient, extensible means connecting said ear yand a portion of saidpick-up carrying member below its pivot axis, said extensible meansserving to effect concurrent rocking movement of said pick-up membertoward said drawer and movement of said drawer to projected position asan incident to manual rocking of said pick-up member toward said drawer:and to permit continuation of the rocking movement of said pick-upmember into engagement with a cigarette in said drawer and withdrawal ofthe cigarette from said drawer while the latter remains stationary.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein there is also a resilientextensible means connected to said ear and a portion of said base foreffecting retraction of said drawer and rocking of said pick-up memberfrom said drawer, said last mentioned extensible means being lessresistant to extension than the extensible member which connects thepivot plate to said drawer, thereby to eiTect predetermined timing ofthe drawer movements relative toy the movements of said pick-up member.

JOI-IAN FOLKE GUSTAFSON. CARL HOLGER GUSTAFSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,981,135 Block Nov. 20, 19342,006,982 Aronson July 2, 1935 2,373,476 King Apr. 10, 1945 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 14,815 Great Britain of 1914

